Examining simultaneous associations of four emotion regulation strategies with abnormal eating behaviors/attitudes in early adolescents

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that emotion regulation strategies (ERSs) are associated with abnormal eating behaviors and attitudes (AEBs). Available data have demonstrated that frequent rumination, a major maladaptive ERS, is associated with elevated AEBs, whereas adaptive ERSs, such as problem-solving and cognitive reappraisal, showed negative associations with AEBs. Most previous studies examined the association of a single ERS with AEBs. Therefore, any significant associations between an individual ERS and AEB reported in previous research might stem from spurious correlations. The current cross-sectional study sought to examine simultaneous associations of four ERSs (rumination, problem-solving, distraction, and cognitive reappraisal) with two categories of ED symptoms (i.e., drive for thinness and bulimic symptoms) in early adolescents in Japan (ages 10–15, N = 5301). Participants self-reported their use of the different ERSs and the ED symptoms. We found certain ERSs were uniquely associated with levels of drive for thinness and bulimic symptoms even after controlling for body mass index, depression, and socioeconomic status. Particularly, frequent rumination in both boys and girls was associated with a severe drive for thinness and bulimic symptoms. Regarding adaptive strategies, frequent uses of problem-solving was associated with decreased bulimic symptoms only in girls, with the effect size being small. In addition, contrary to our expectation, greater use of distraction was associated with elevated AEBs, except the association with drive for thinness in boys. Although this study extended findings of previous research, prospective studies are required to clarify the causal relationship between ERSs and eating pathology.